GriffIn Beacon Arrives To Turn iPhone Into Remote

We first saw the Griffin Beacon at CES earlier this year and now it’s shipping, to allow you to turn your iPhone or iPad into a universal remote.

In recent years
we have seen standalone products such as the Logitech Harmony series and the the Genius Remote. We have also seen adaptors which turn your smartphones into
universal remotes such as the Flpr, Redeye and L5. All of these required a
dongle to be inserted into your phone to work but now Griffin Technology has
launched one which requires no dongle or cables. However, the Beacon does
require a unit to sit somewhere in your living room, which cleverly converts
your iPhone/iPad’s Bluetooth signal into the infrared commands your TV, stereo,
PVRs etc. would be expecting. Griffin has teamed up with software developer
Dijit to create a free universal remote app, which easily pairs your smartphone with
Beacon and in turn allows you to control a range of A/V devices.

Once you have downloaded Dijit’s Universal Remote app, it
pairs with Beacon and allows you to control devices via Dijit’s Programming
Guide. It will allow you to change channels, volume, input, program your PVR,
and lots more. Griffin are selling the Beacon system on the basis that you
don’t require “bulky cases or dongles, no messy wires or cables.” But unless
the thing actually works, a lack of dongles won’t be much of an advantage. You
can customize the layout of the remote on your screen to be as simple or as
complicated as you like, depending on how many devices you want to control at
once. In order to make sure it will work with your A/V systems, the Dijit app
uses a constantly updated device code library for your TV, set-top box, sound
system and media players. For components not yet included in Dijit's library, the
app also includes an integrated learning feature.

Griffin is
currently listing only the US price ($80) at the moment but at CES we were told
it would cost £54.99 in the UK. While it is expensive for a remote system which
requires you to have your iPhone/iPad present at all times, it does seem like a
neat wireless solution.